


Tender Loving Care

by cartonedeunoia



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, leorio is worried, leorio just cares about him, soft kurapika
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27825454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cartonedeunoia/pseuds/cartonedeunoia
Summary: “the younger leans down to rest his head near enough to the taller's chest so that he can hear his heartbeat. it's a steady, calm pace and he feels himself relaxing and melting into the safety that is leorio.”or alternativelykurapika opens up just a bit, but that’s enough for leorio to show that he cares.
Relationships: Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 4
Kudos: 71





	Tender Loving Care

**Author's Note:**

> in the beginning which is kurapika’s dream he’s a part of the phantom troupe. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING !  
> this mentions drowning, use of his chains around the heart and vomiting. it’s not gory and it doesn’t mention blood though.
> 
> [interact with me on twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/lattefortobio)

_kurapika narrows his eyes at the blond in front of him. shalnark grins back. "just pick, come on we're waiting."_

_the kurta rolls his eyes and looks to the spider on his right. "hit." feitan's eyes glimmer at the works but passes kurapika another card nonetheless._

_the black tattoo on his back suddenly feels heavy, but he's unsure why._

_deciding not to focus on it, he turns back to his left. "i thought you were a kurta when we first met." shalnark laughs heartily, eyes closing tightly. "it's because of how i dress, isn't it?"_

_kurapika ignores him and glances at the other spiders surrounding him._

_a dark haired one pushes her glasses up on her nose; a pink haired one stares at the chaos with boredom written all over her features; a tall yet lanky one alongside another blond one bicker aimlessly._

_getting tired of looking at his colleagues he gets up._

_"uvo's not gonna like you trying to take his spotlight," shalnark states. placing his hand of cards down in the small circle, kurapika scoffs and hops down from their cliff._

_chains swinging heavily, he hardly spares a glance at the people whose eyes they’ve come for._

_"having fun, uvogin?"_

_"tons, kurapika," the bigger smirks._

_before he knows it, the blond is getting bored again by the time he and uvogin are almost done._

_he blinks and looks around for something to interest him, but instead a familiar face forces him into darkness._

_he's surrounded by nothing at all when he feels a tug on his clothes. he knows the face in front of him, he knows his name, but there's something wrong, something different._

_"pairo?" the other glares at him utter disgust rolling off of him in waves._

_pairo is speaking but he can't hear him. he strains and strains but he can't make out the younger's words._

_he's panicking and he can't bring himself to close his eyes._

_suddenly, he's surrounded by water._

_he's drowning and he can't hear his friend's voice and he has no clue what to do._

_everything is happening so quickly and his head is spinning._

_he cannot breathe._

_then instantaneously, he can._

_he's panting, hands on his knees. when he looks up, pairo is gone. he doesn't even have the time to wonder if that's a good or bad thing because he's wincing as he feels something tighten around his heart._

_he knows this feeling._

_he knows what it is and when he looks up, he finds himself staring into his own eyes. his own fiery, scarlet eyes._

_he's saying something to himself, but he's unsure what._

_he can only feel the chain tightening around his heart and the emptiness creeping over him slowly._

_"spider."_

kurapika's breath hitches in a soft gasp as he shoots up from the bed. 

standing up, he treads quietly towards the bathroom where a now awake leorio can hear him empty the contents of his stomach. 

they had become used to multiple nights like this where kurapika's nightmares would wake them both up in the early hours of the day. 

he would always wake up silently yet shaking violently before heaving his prior meals down into the sewers. leorio would then always bring him a mug of warm water that was often met with a small hum of appreciation. the blond never managed to finish it and they would wake up later to find a lukewarm mug of water on their lamp stand. 

after his nightmares, kurapika often became a half-empty shell of himself. his features became dull and lifeless, as did his actions, and he avoided speaking, hardly communicating at all. 

leorio and kurapika would then end up simply laying down, facing each other on their bed. 

leorio seemed to know what the nightmares were about despite kurapika never opening up about them. 

the kurta's eyes would stay scarlet for a couple of hours after the nightmares and leorio's constant smile always seemed to bring them back to their natural state. 

leorio remembers the first time he witnessed the aftermath of the nightmares. he was extremely worried and followed the younger to the bathroom, thinking about how he could help, when he was brought back to reality by kurapika almost stabbing him with a toothbrush. 

later that day, kurapika had apologized stating that he felt bad for almost killing him. 

leorio laughs at the memory, eyes crinkling and kurapika blinks rapidly a couple of times. "remember when you tried to stab me with a toothbrush?" kurapika stares. "you can't kill me with a toothbrush, dummy, i survived the hunter exam, remember?" 

if it wasn't so quiet or they weren't so close to each other, leorio would have missed the words that fell out of the blond's mouth. "that doesn't prove anything." 

leorio chuckles and sighs calmly. 

he bites his lip while clenching his fist to keep himself from stroking the younger's face. kurapika was naturally never a huge fan of physical affection and it only seemed to worsen after his nightmares. 

"it's always the same thing," kurapika mumbles. 

leorio looks up, not expecting him to speak again. "it's always the same dream concept," he sighs. 

leorio sees the way his body tenses as kurapika recalls the memory. leorio wants kurapika to know that he _doesn't_ have to force himself to remember it; he wants him to know that he doesn't _need_ to know what it's about, but the words die on his lips and he can't bring himself to say them so he stays silent. 

"it always involves pairo," his voice cracks on the name of his old friend. he pauses for a while taking a couple of breaths and the sheer pain on his face is almost enough to destroy leorio. 

"sometimes, i'm just a spectator as my mind imagines all the horrid things that could have happened while i wasn't there and sometimes i'm part of it and i'm helping the spiders and--" kurapika can't help it when he rushes to go and throw up again. 

by the time he comes back, he looks more drained than he was before and leorio can't take it. 

"pika," he stares softly into his ruby-colored eyes, "i'm gonna touch your hair, okay? tell me if i shouldn't." 

leorio pauses for a handful of seconds before slowly raising his hand to the shorter's head. he strokes the blond locks, running his fingers carefully through them and playing with the ends, twirling them around the tip of his finger. 

"can i touch your face?" he asks quieter this time. kurapika scans his face before closing his eyes and shaking his head. "that's... that's too close to my eyes," he whispers and leorio can hear the strain in his voice. 

_god, he’s been through so much._

"that's alright, i'm not gonna do anything you're uncomfortable--" 

"but," kurapika stops as if he shouldn't have started that sentence, but he can sense the genuine care radiating from leorio like an aura. he _does_ feel comfortable. 

"but, can you... hug me?" he looks off to the side burning with shame. it wasn't even like he said it loudly. physical affection was not something he accepted, nor would he ever dream of asking for it, but when leorio wraps an arm around his waist to pull him closer, he wonders why that was. 

leorio intertwines his fingers with kurapika and the younger leans down to rest his head near enough to the taller's chest so that he can hear his heartbeat. it's a steady, calm pace and he feels himself relaxing and melting into the safety that is leorio. 

"thank you," he mumbles as he feels himself falling asleep. "no, thank you, for letting me be here with you."

when kurapika wakes up and remembers where he is, he pulls his face out of leorio's chest and the fingers moving in his hair still. "why are you still here? your patients need you." leorio hums, thinking of an answer, but decides not to answer, instead pressing a kiss to his hair. kurapika closes his eyes, a smile forming on his lips and from the bottom of his heart, lets out a genuinely happy laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are appreciated! i don’t mind constructive criticism and would be happy to hear your feedback!!
> 
> [interact with me on twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/lattefortobio)


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